About Us
Spice Island Chilli®, based in Portsmouth, is a fusion of our two passions: History and Chilli.
An interesting mix, you may ask? – Let us explain
We’re so passionate about these subjects, it’s the reason the crew at Spice Island Chilli got together to create our handmade range of chilli sauces, sharing with you our love for awesome new tastes and flavours, and the historic tales of adventure that inspired us to make them in the first place.
Portsmouth’s long and influential maritime history spans well over 800 years. During this time, the area has seen countless voyages of discovery set sail from and return to Portsea Island.
Portsmouth Harbour, The Solent and Spice Island have been, and continue to be, the stage upon which legends are made.
Famously and often notoriously, Spice Island was the bustling focus for the many voyages of exploration that started and ended on England's South Coast. Over the years, the location established itself as 'The Point' of central disembarkation for the growing British interest in the world’s spice trade.
Many a bounty of mace, cloves, pepper, sugar cane and of course our personal favourite, the fiery chilli, were rolled off the galleons as Portsmouth's Spice Island became instrumental in introducing a treasure trove of spices and exotic ingredients into British cuisine.
Our specialist recipes take inspiration from the many stories of pirates and privateers that rampaged the South Sea. From the times of The British East India Company’s dominance of trade routes across the Indian Ocean, to the brave Captains and Admirals-of-the-Fleet that first circumnavigated the globe and helped define the modern day maps of the world.
Through historical context and our love of food, Spice Island Chilli creates a range of locally made chilli sauces using a unique variety of chilli peppers, bringing you a selection of versatile and delicious sauce blends that have their origins in South America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
All Spice Island Chilli sauces are made using the finest chilli varieties from local and international suppliers and each bottle includes quality ingredients throughout. Everything is prepared, cooked and blended by our chief cook and heat tester, who has been known to heat test a cargo of fresh scotch bonnet before breakfast.
Spice Island Chilli sauces are wholesome and full of flavour, produced in small batches of approximately 350 bottles per cook. Each has been scaled up using the original recipes we developed in our home kitchens. Back in the days when 7 hours work gave you 24 bottles, if you were lucky.
All bottles we produce are full of love... Love for the chilli, a passion for the history, gluten free and are vegetarian and vegan friendly.
The crew at Spice Island Chilli invite you to try our delicious chilli sauces for yourself and begin your very own culinary voyage of discovery...
Spice Island Chilli
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